The Hunter
by Asher004
Summary: Spike trails a fugitive through the busy city streets of a Mars marketplace.


Disclaimer: I do not own Cowboy Bebop

This is a Oneshot piece. I have always admired the scenes in Cowboy Bebop where Spike is trailing a suspect through busy city streets or bazaars. I have tried to emulate those visual scenes in text form. Enjoy and leave me some feedback.

The Hunter

By Asher004

"How could I have lost him in the crowd? Damnit!" thought Spike

He had been trailing Max Rankin, a fugitive, wanted on four counts of murder.

The Mars marketplace was hustling and bustling. People were selling and buying all sorts of exotic goods. Vendors yelled out to the crowds.

"Magical fungus straight from the gas clouds of Venus! Cure your ailments instantly!"

"I know one of you out there must be nostalgic. Well I got rare memorabilia from Earth here! Real cheap! Come and get it well it lasts!"

Spike put on his round computer sunglasses. Little screens popped up out of thin air. Overlapping the crowd in front of him, Spike began to read little computer charts. He input Max's specs. 6'2", Caucasian, Male. The glasses began to scan the crowd for people that met that description. Spike also used the optical zoom to help him search for Max.

Meanwhile, Max had stepped into a clothing store. He took a completely new outfit into the dressing room and changed his clothes, leaving his old ones in a crumpled up pile on the floor.

"Ha, let's see that bounty hunter try to catch me now. He'll never find me in this crowd. The bazaar is the busiest I have ever seen it."

Max then grabbed a red baseball cap off of a rack next to the door and ran out of the store without paying. The store clerk chased after him, but Max disappeared into the crowd as he placed the cap firmly on his head.

"You bastard!" shouted the store clerk.

"This is ridiculous." thought Spike. He lit up a cigarette and took a long, deep drag. He exhaled with a 'sigh' and a stream of smoke emitted from his nostrils. He continued to scan the crowd and let the cigarette hang off of his lip. He had climbed to the top of a stoop in an effort to see over the crowd.

"Excuse me Mr. Would you like to buy a freshly baked roll?" asked a small girl carrying a tray of assorted baked breads.

"Not now kid, can't you see I'm busy?" retorted Spike

The little girl was taken a-back and moved on to the next person she saw walking in the crowd.

Spike threw his cigarette butt to the ground and reached into the pack. There were none left "This Rankin guy has me running all around town, and now I'm out of cigarettes. Freakin' wonderful!" Spike thought to himself as he took off his sunglasses and began to rub his temples.

Max had continued walking through the crowds. Street after street were filled with people. A little girl came up to him with a tray of baked breads, "Hello sir, would you like to buy a freshly baked roll?"

"Don't mind if I do!" exclaimed Max as he grabbed the entire tray and began to sprint away. He pushed a man out of the way as he belted down the street. The little girl began to shout and cry.

The sudden commotion caught Spike's attention. He looked up to see what was happening across the street from him. He noticed the little girl who had bothered him before was crying and pointing at a man with a red hat who was running down the street. The guy was headed straight towards Spike. He noticed the man was holding the girl's tray. Spike sighed and rolled his eyes back into his head. "This is too easy."

He extended his leg and the man tripped and did a face plant on the pavement. The rolls went flying everywhere and Spike caught one in his mouth and one in his hand. He stuffed the roll in his pocket and then gazed down in front of him. The red hat had gone flying off when the man fell and to Spike's amazement, Max Rankin was lying unconscious on the ground. Spike laughed to himself and slapped a pair of handcuffs on him.

"$$$$$$$$" Money signs flew through Spike's mind. Max Rankin had a bounty of 5,000 woolongs on his head. Spike then went up to the little girl and gave her the tray back along with 5 woolongs. "Here," he said "This should cover the cost of those rolls and then some." The girl wiped her eyes and looked up at Spike with a smile. "Thank you sir," she said.

Spike picked up Max and slung the passed out body over his shoulder. He took a pack of cigarettes out of Max's back pocket and lit one up. "At least you're good for something," he said. Spike then disappeared into the crowd, another shape in the mass of moving figures.


End file.
